Tulane Cancer Center Wave-Makers 5K
Tulane Cancer Center’s Wave Makers 5K returns Oct. 18 to rally community around cancer research
Tulane Cancer Center is inviting runners, walkers, families, cancer survivors and supporters to make waves against cancer at the second annual Wave Makers 5K walk and run, Sunday, Oct. 18, at Lafreniere Park in Metairie.
The family-friendly event, held in collaboration with the New Orleans Track Club, will begin with “The Swell” Kids’ Half-Mile Run at 8 a.m., followed by the 5K walk/run at 8:30 a.m. Participants can choose from 12 cancer awareness ribbon-themed teams representing different types of cancer, allowing everyone to walk or run in honor of a cause that is meaningful to them.
Registration is open for the event, and proceeds benefit cancer research at Tulane Cancer Center, supporting scientists and physicians working together to develop new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The impact of that support can already be seen in research made possible by the inaugural Wave Makers 5K.
The first event drew nearly 1,000 registered participants from 22 states and 19 Louisiana parishes and raised nearly $100,000 for cancer research. Those proceeds established the Wave Makers Translational Cancer Research Award, supporting a collaborative research project co-led by a laboratory-based researcher and a clinician. Tulane associate professors of medicine Elizabeth Martin and Bridgette Collins-Burow, a clinician-researcher in hematology and medical oncology, won the award for their project looking for a way to prevent breast cancer from spreading into bones.
“This is exactly what Wave Makers was created to do: bring our community together and translate that generosity into opportunities for scientific discovery,” said Jessica Shank, Tulane Cancer Center interim co-director. “The support generated by this event gives our researchers and physicians the resources to pursue promising ideas, build collaborations and generate the early findings that can ultimately lead to larger studies and new approaches to cancer care.”
The event also offers an opportunity for families, friends, colleagues, patients, survivors and researchers to come together around a shared goal.
“Cancer touches virtually every family and every community,” said Hua Lu, Tulane Cancer Center interim co-director and Reynolds and Ryan Families Chair in Translational Cancer Research at Tulane. “Wave Makers gives people a tangible way to honor someone they love, celebrate survivorship, remember those we have lost and, at the same time, help fuel the research that can change what a cancer diagnosis means in the future.”
Participants who register for a ribbon-themed team by Oct. 13 are guaranteed a race T-shirt in their team’s corresponding ribbon color.
Since its founding in 1993, Tulane Cancer Center has advanced innovative cancer research, multidisciplinary care, clinical trials and education for the next generation of cancer researchers and physician-scientists. As an academic cancer center, it uses a bench-to-bedside-and-back approach that brings patients and community perspectives into the research process, helping ensure its work reflects the needs of the people it serves.